Ending 2025 on a High Note in Ohio!

Throughout 2025, GWA members mobilized to defend their industry. Just last week, members Nick Gammon, Alexis Drake, and Tim Pierce turned out for a hearing in Morrow County, Ohio, in support of the Crossroads Solar Grazing Center. Before a crowd of more than 100 people, Nick told his solar story before asking the Ohio Power Siting Board to support the project:

Years ago, when the recession hit, the transmission plant where I worked closed, and I lost my job. I went through a hard time finding a new job, worked in a lot of unsafe places, with way less pay. Life was pretty hard. About four years ago, I noticed a broken-down car by the side of the road. I stopped to help him, and it ended up being a site supervisor and he got me into solar. It’s been a lot better with solar. No missed time for accidents, work environment is way safer, the pay is way better, and it takes way better care of you than a lot of the employment I’ve been used to in the last ten years.

The 94-megawatt solar farm would create 180 construction jobs and allow the property to remain in agricultural use, with sheep grazing on the property (as many as 1,500 to 2,000 a year!)

As you can see in this short video, GWA members were busy this year. With the solar and wind industry facing political attacks in Washington, we launched an all-out member mobilization in the first half of 2025 to protect renewable energy tax credits. GWA members travelled to Washington to lobby their members of Congress, spoke to the press alongside mayors and small business owners, and appeared in digital ads in eight states. Although these credits are still being eliminated, our efforts helped preserve them for another year.

In January, we hosted our fourth national conference in Houston, where leaders made plans for the year and met with OSHA officials and local allies. Two GWA activists working in the solar industry served as GWA fellows this summer. Thirteen members have now participated in our flagship leadership development program. In the fall, members travelled to Chicago and Miami for meetings about workplace safety and temp agency organizing. At the same time, we launched our Ohio organizing drive with events throughout the Columbus area. We continue to grow, with over 1,900 renewable energy workers now part of GWA.

2026 kicks off with our largest-ever national conference in Columbus. We’ll rally with allies for more renewable energy jobs. We’ll keep mobilizing wind techs around improving safety in their field. And we’ll strengthen our on-the-ground efforts in Ohio and other states where we can make a difference in winning approvals for more renewable energy projects. We’ll also build on our progress in 2025, getting GWA members to appear in press stories and on social media. GWA members are among the best messengers on the importance of renewable energy projects in creating jobs and lowering energy costs, and we will continue to share their stories.

We want to extend our heartfelt gratitude for your partnership with us in this critical work and we hope it will continue for the fights yet to come!